Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinWith regular US trading closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, spot gold edged down 0.1% in London to under $1,280 as the dollar pushed higher after China reported its slowest growth in nearly 30 years.

China's economic downturn accelerated toward the end of last year, resulting in an officially-reported annual growth of 6.6%, the slowest since 1990. Many economists believing true growth to be substantially less. Weakness in Eurozone economies and trade wars with the US were cited as primary causes.

The dollar bumped up after the report, with the ICE Dollar Index reaching the highest level in two weeks, as forex traders turned to the buck for safety. A stronger dollar tends to weigh on gold and other commodities priced in it for global trade by making them more expensive overseas.

The IMF lowered its global growth forecast for 2019 to 3.5%, down from 3.7%, because of intensifying trade conflicts and higher US interest rates. US growth is projected to be 2.5%.

Spot silver slid 0.7% to $15.22 an ounce. US markets reopen tomorrow.